Omagh

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This article is about the town of Omagh. For the film of same name see: Omagh (movie).

Template:Infobox Irish Place


Omagh (Irish: An Ómaigh) is the county town (and largest town) of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town has a population of 21,380 and a further 28,000 live in the Omagh District Council area (2006 estimate). Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council. It is the county town of Tyrone, having taken the title from Dungannon around 1768. The town is said to owe its origins to an abbey founded in 792 AD.

The town is almost at the centre of Ulster.

Omagh is also very close to the Northern Ireland - Republic of Ireland border, being around a 30 minute drive from the County Donegal border (Strabane/Lifford) and 45 minutes from the County Monaghan border (Aughnacloy). The town is twinned with L'Haÿ-les-Roses, France.

Omagh is served by the postcodes BT78 and BT79.


Contents

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History

Omagh was founded as a town in 1610, nearly 150 years after the foundation of the Franciscan Friary in the town. It served as a refuge for fugitives from the east of Tyrone during the 1641 Rebelloion. In 1689, the same year as the Battle of the Boyne, James II arrived at Omagh, en route to Derry. Supporters of William III, Prince of Orange, burn the town.

In 1768, Omagh replaced Dungannon as the county town of Tyrone and a nearly century later the first railway track would reach Omagh. This was removed in 1965 by the Unionist government at Stormont. 1881 saw the Military Barracks being built in the town which exist to this day, while in 1899 Tyrone County Hospital - today the subject of a massive campaign to save its existing services - was opened.

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Omagh bombing

The Real IRA bombed the town centre in August 1998, killing 29 people - 14 women, 9 children and 6 men. One of the women killed was pregnant with twins.

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Floods

Omagh has a history of flooding and suffered major floods in 1909, 1929, 1954, 1969, 1987 and 1999. As a result of this, floodwalls were built to keep the water in the channel (River Strule) and to prevent it from overflowing into the floodplain. Large areas of land are also unsuitable for development, usually around the meanders, and were developed into large, green open areas, walking routes and parks.

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Historical Populations

  • 1981 - 14,627 (Official census)
  • 1991 - 17,280 (Official census)
  • 2000 - 18,031 (Official estimate)
  • 2001 - 19,910 (Official census)
  • 2006 - 21,380 (Calculation) [1]
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2001 Census

Statistical Classification - Large Town

Demography -

  • Population - 19,910
  • Population under 16 years - 24.8%
  • Population over 60 years - 14.9%
  • Average age - 34.0 years (N.I. average - 35.8 years)
  • Male population - 48.9%
  • Female population - 51.1%
  • People from a Catholic commmunity background - 68.2%
  • People from a Protestant or other Christian community background - 29.5%
  • People born outside Northern Ireland - 13.8%
  • People from a non-white ethnic group - 1.2%
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Places of Interest/Tourism

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Public Transport

Many bus services link Omagh with the rest of Tyrone and indeed, the rest of Ireland (Both North and South). Mainly, two bus companies serve Omagh - Bus Éireann and Ulsterbus. There are bus services to nearly all major towns and cities from Omagh including Belfast and Dublin.

There are currently no rail services in, to, from or around Omagh (town or district). The rail service was stopped in the 1960s and now the town's throughpass has/is being built over the remains of the railway line (The throughpass is being built in three stages. As of April 2006 - the first two phases are open to traffic and the third phase will be completed sometime in the Summer of 2006).

There is some hope that Omagh will become a transport hub in the future (by 2050). A rail link is proposed to Belfast, and a rail link from Derry/Londonderry to Limerick is also planned, going through Omagh. However, this is only a proposal in the planning stage, and no plan has been finalised as yet. If this was to happen, Omagh would have rail links for the first time since 1965 to most of the other major towns and cities in Ireland.

There is a town bus service that runs daily, and a night bus service at weekends.

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Road connections

Omagh is connected to the rest of Ireland through a system of motorways, A roads and B roads.

The main roads to/from Omagh are as follows -


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Education

Omagh has a large variety of educational institutions at all levels. Omagh is also the headquarters of the Western Education and Library Board (WELB), which is located in Campsie House on the Hospital Road.

Primary Schools (Elementary Schools)

  • Christ The King Primary School
  • Gibson Primary School
  • Omagh Convent Primary School
  • Omagh County Primary School (And Nursery School)
  • Omagh Integrated Primary School
  • St. Mary's Primary School
  • St. Colmcille's Primary School
  • St. Conor's Primary School

Grammar/Secondary Schools (High Schools)

Colleges/Universities

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Religion

Omagh has many religious outlets, including -

  • Church of Christ the King (Roman Catholic)
  • Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian)
  • First Omagh Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian)
  • Independant Methodist Church (Methodist)
  • Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnessess (Jehovah's Witnesses)
  • Omagh Baptist Church (Baptist)
  • Omagh Community Church (Non-Denominational)
  • Omagh Free Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian)
  • Omagh Gospel Hall (Free Presbyterian)
  • Omagh Methodist Church (Methodist)
  • Sacred Heart Church (Roman Catholic)
  • St. Columbia's Church (Church of Ireland)
  • St. Mary's Church (Roman Catholic)
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon)
  • Trinity Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian)
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Electoral wards/Neighbourhoods

These wards are only in the town, there are many outside the town in the council area.

These can also double as neighbourhoods. Population figures are for 2001, and will not add up to the 2006 estimate.

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People

Notable residents or people born in Omagh include:

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See also

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External links

Template:NorthernIrishTownsde:Omagh fr:Omagh it:Omagh pl:Omagh pt:Omagh ro:Omagh sv:Omagh

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